Lost Lover
by spacegrace
Summary: This story is sad at first. Rhett's laywer brings him some unhappy news. That's all I'm going to say, you'll have to read it to find out more.
1. Sad News

1**Now this story takes place after Rhett sends his lawyer in search of Scarlett. It's sad at first and everything not as it seems.**

Rhett was sitting in the parlor wait for word from the lawyer he had sent to Atlanta to find where Scarlett had wonder off too. He couldn't believe that she had just left and hadn't informed anyone where she was headed. She hadn't even told his mother that she was leaving. When he received word that she didn't return to Atlanta that first thing that had filled his heart was fear and then anger. Then he heard a knock at the door.

"Good evening, Captain Butler."

It was his lawyer, Rhett motioned for him to come in. "We'll go into the parlor." He lead the way and sat down in a chair by the fire. "Well, where is she? Will she take the divorce?" He said this as he lite his cigar.

"Captain Butler, you heard about that steamship that sank the other day, did you not?"

"Yes, everyone knows about it. It's all that anyone talks about. What does that have to do with what I asked you?" Rhett inhaled deeply when he finished.

"I'd like you to look at this, I brought this morning but I didn't get a look at it until I was on my way back here." His lawyer handed him a newspaper and on it were the names of the people who were believed dead or who were missing form the steamship incident.

It was a list of all those who had died in the ship rack. Rhett's eyes scrolled down the paper and then the stopped, there half way down the list was a name that made Rhett's face drain of all color, his heart fell and broke into a million little pieces. It read **Scarlett O'Hare — Dead**. Rhett started to have trouble breathing, he couldn't handle this, he didn't want to.

"Get out!" He looked up at his lawyer, "Get the hell out!" He didn't want to have anything to do with the person who had brought him this information. He watched as his lawyer left the room, Rhett didn't bother seeing him to the door. He didn't know how long he sat there looking at the name on the paper. Scarlett was dead. He had lost her forever. He had wanted to hurt her for leaving him and now she was gone forever. He had tried so hard to shield himself from her, to get away from her and now she was gone. He couldn't go back to her, he couldn't go help her if she needed it, he wouldn't hear word of her from his friends in Atlanta. She was gone and she wasn't coming back, he couldn't try to win her heart again. He would never be able to wiggle his way back into her life. She was dead, she had left out of anger at him and now because of him she was dead. Rhett couldn't get these thoughts out of his head.

He didn't know how long he sat there but it was morning when his mother came to see him sitting there looking at the paper. "Rhett, what are you doing?"

He jumped when he heard his mother's voice, "Mama?" He looked down at the floor and his whole body started to shake, "She's dead. She's really gone this time." He started to cry and at first his mother didn't understand why then it hit her, and it hit her hard. Scarlett was dead. The one person that her son had ever truly loved was dead.

_A Week Later_

It was a rainy, dark, cold day they buried the empty caustic into the ground. Rhett stood alone; like a wall. He didn't show any emotions at all; he was like a rock. His sister Rosemary noticed that he had grown hard and cold in less then a week. And deep down she was filled with guilt because she had burnt Scarlett's note. Maybe if she hadn't Rhett would have gone after her and she wouldn't have died. She just couldn't understand it. He had told her that he didn't love the women that she was nothing but a burden to him. Now he acts as if he was afraid to love her or to stay with her. He seemed to be destroyed and she couldn't understand why.

Rhett had made the decision to have Scarlett's gravestone next to their daughter, Bonnie's. He had sold the house and all of the belonging two days after he had found out that she was gone. He made a promise to himself to never fall in love again; to never marry again. He shut himself down and he wasn't sure that he could build himself up again. Long after the ceremony he stood there looking at the name on the stone. **Scarlett O'Hara Butler**, he didn't want to put all her other names on the stone, she had been his and he wanted it to stay that way. He just couldn't believe that she was gone.

As the months past Rhett slowly slipped away from his family and one day he just left. He didn't want to deal with it anymore, so he left not knowing where he would go or what he was looking for but he knew that he needed to find something, he just had no idea what he would find.

He ended up traveling to New Orleans, where he thought that he could forget about the fact that she was gone. But of course as soon as he got there all he could think about where the few weeks that they had spent there together on their honeymoon. He remembered shopping with her, picking out her dresses; fighting about getting something for Mammy. But she was always thinking about Ashley, he was all she ever thought about. Rhett Butler always got what he wanted but for once in his life he realized that the only thing that he ever wanted he never could get. And now he would never get her.

He was walking down the street when, "Rhett Butler!" Someone yelled from behind him. Rhett spun around to see who had called him. It was Christian, an old friend and a follow blockader.

"Christian! How are you doing old buddy?" Rhett tried to act happy but it was no use and when he saw that his old friend give him a look of concern he knew that he shouldn't have come.

"So, pal, what's wrong?"

Rhett looked at the ground knowing that he couldn't avoid it any longer. "She's dead, my wife, the only person I loved is dead." He didn't look up at his friend knowing what would come next.

"Come on, let's go talk. It seems that you need to."


	2. Long Lost Friend

**Here's a new chapter I hope that you all enjoy it. I hope that you like the name. Because it's all that I could come up with.**

**Chapter 2**

Rhett sat there not looking at anything in particular, he told him everything. From the day he meet Scarlett to the day they went sailing. "I don't know why she just took off. She didn't even tell anyone that she was leaving or where she was going. She just left, and now she's gone." He didn't want to cry, he tried but he couldn't help himself.

Christian looked at the broken man in front of him; he never would believe that Rhett Butler had cried if he hadn't seen it for himself. He didn't know what to say he had never been put in this type of situation, he hadn't even found someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with let alone cry over. He did know that nothing he said could make him feel better; he also knew that nothing could make him feel better, nothing but looking out the window and seeing his wife alive and not dead. But things like that didn't happen at least on here at this time in place.

A woman with beautiful black hair opened her emerald green eyes, she lay on a bed in a place she didn't know, surrounded by people she didn't know, hell she didn't even know who she was. She looked around to see if something would jog her memory. But she couldn't turn her head for the pain. She didn't have any idea of how she got here or what could cause such pain.

"Hello, little angle of god. It's nice to see you awake. The doctor will be very pleased to see you have started to recover from your ordeal. And he as some news that might brighten your day." The nurse was beaming with joy at the woman who lay in the bed before her.

"Who am I?" She looked at the woman, and she thought that she knew her, but she couldn't place the face.

"We were hoping that you could answer that question. But don't worry dear, we'll find out who you are in no time. We should be able to report that an unidentified woman has been found. I'm sure someone will come and clam you." She smiled down at her warmly. "But until then we'll have to give you a name. Do you care what we call you?" She shook her head. "Well then, what about…. Hope. Because that's what you are to me, my hope."

Shortly after the woman received her new name the doctor came to see her. "Hello, I hear that you have gained a temporary name. Well, I have some news for you. You're pregnant; do you have any idea who the father might be?" She shook her head. "Well, we know that you're married, because we found this on your finger." He handed Hope her ring, it was beautiful. It had a large emerald in the middle surrounded by diamonds. "Still, no?" She just looked at him.

"Alright, I'll come to see you again in a few hours. Get some rest."

Hope fell back asleep, into frightful dreams. _"Cheer up; maybe you'll have a miscarriage." Then she saw herself fall a flight of stairs. _Her dream passed to another seen from her past. _"Do you have anything else? You Yankees have been here before, and then she shoots the gun."_ Hope woke up then and looks around. She heard two voices, one was very formiral but she couldn't remember who it was, or who the person was to her. But the hunting words sent servies up her spin. She didn't want to have anything to do with a person who could be so curl to her. But she couldn't help but feel some form of love for the voice that she heard in her head. She tried to sit up but could not, she was too weak. She looked around the room and realized that she was hungry.

"Hell my dear. Can I get you anything?"

Scarlett nodded her head, "I'd like to sit up and I'm hungry." The nurse helped her sit up and brought her some chicken soup. Hope looked out the window, see saw green everywhere. "Um, where am I?" She looked at the nurse and she smiled at her.

"My child, you're in Ireland. The home of the Irish and you my dear look more then Irish to me and no matter where you are really from because you are Irish you belong here. So don't you worry about not remembering who you are. Because you can build new memories here where you belong."

Hope just looked at the nurse, _'It's like she doesn't want me to remember who I am.' _She looked out the window again. She couldn't help but feel that there was someone out there who was missing her, someone who needed her. But because she couldn't remember who it was she wasn't sure if it was just because she wanted someone to want her. _"I wonder if the father of the baby misses me. I wonder if he loves me.'_ Hope wanted to fined out who the person from her dream was, she wanted to know why someone would say that to her. She had a very strange feeling that that person was the father of her unborn child. She knew that he was the one who wanted her or needed her. She also thought that maybe she would need him too.

Rhett looked out the window; he was standing with his back to his friend. He didn't know what to do with himself, he knew that he would have to move on but he wasn't sure how. He had lost his daughter and now he had lost his wife forever. He wasn't sure if he could ever go back to the way that he was.

"Rhett, listen I can see that you need to get away from everything. I'm going to go to Ireland to look at some horses. Why don't you come with me? This way you get a change of seen and maybe you can help me find some horses, you were always good at that." He was hopeful, he wasn't sure if Rhett would say yes.

Rhett turned to look at him. _'That's where Scarlett was going.'_ "Yes, I'll go with you." Rhett thought that maybe there was some chance that she was some how alive. Not knowing that everybody in America thought that she was dead. Maybe if she was he could make everything up to her some how. But he didn't think that was possible, things didn't happen like that. Rhett didn't know what made him think deep down that she was still alive, but something had told him to say yes. He wasn't even sure if he had said yes or if it was something else all together. But he would go just the same hoping against all hope that by some miracle that if she was alive that he could find her. If he did he would do everything in his power to make a mends for all his wrong doings. He would make her see that he had still loved her and there was no reason for her to take off like she did and scare him half to death pretending that she was dead. Maybe they could have another baby, maybe more then just one, maybe she would want a dozen. He didn't really know if she wanted another baby but that's what he wanted. But he thought at the top of his mind that she was gone.


	3. Maybe A Home

**Here's a new chapter I hope that you all enjoy it. I'm sorry it took me so long to up date. Summer, boyfriend and a lack of a computer at home don't really mix too well. I promise that I'll have another up date in a week or so. Lot's of love to my readers. **

**Spacegrace**

**Chapter 3**

"Doctor, who is that?" John Morland looked over at Hope's bed.

"A young women who is not only lost to her family but to herself as well."

"What do you mean, she's lost to herself and her family?"

"You heard about that ship that sank a few weeks back?" The doctor waited until he saw John nod his head in agledishment. "Well, she was on the ship and she has no morey of her family. She was married that much we know. She wears a ring on her finger and she is with child. But that is all we know of her."

"What is to happen to her?"

"Nothing, for the moment. We are searching for a family to take her in and help her with the child she bears."

John looked at the sleeping women lying in the bed, he couldn't help but think that he should take her in. "Doctor, I have a cousin coming for a visit in a few months, if it would please you, I'd like to care for her. My cousin's had three children of her own and I'm sure she'd stay to help."

The Doctor looked from John to Hope and back again. He wasn't all too sure about the match but decided that it would have to do. "All right but not because I want to but because I need the bed. You have a week to convince her to go with and make whatever agreements you need to make. Now let me get back to my work."

John looked at the women asleep on the bed and swallowed hard. He didn't know what made him feel as if he was trudging into water to deep for him to stand in but a stronger feeling told him he was doing the right thing. That if he didn't take this women into his home she would be lost forever.

When Hope woke first she noticed that a dozen yellow roses had been placed on her night stand second that there was a man sitting in the chair by her bed. She looked at him not knowing who he was but saw a kind softness to his eyes that made her heart melt.

"Hello, my dear lady. You don't know me and I don't know you. Well, I don't think that was the best way to start. I certainly didn't want to start that way. Let me start over. My name is John Morland. I am orgainly from England and I came to Ireland to join in the horse business. The only thing that I really know about. I own a small house with a large horse barn with a very large number of horses. You see I bread them to race and sell. I do fairly well. I also buy so I can bread better horses for next season."

"Sir, I don't mean to be rude but why are you telling me this?"

"I haven't really said what I wanted to say have I? Well, you know that the doctor has been looking for someone to take you in. To take care of you, make sure that you learn your way around. Maybe even find your family. Well, I'd like to do that for you if you don't mind me asking."

"You want to become my care taker?" John nodded his head. "Why?" Hope's eyes narrowed.

"Well, I have a feeling that I should. Something is telling me that I need to do this. Now before you get any notion that I mean you any harm at all I have a cousin who will be here to help. She is in America but she'll be here in a few mouths."

Hope looked at him and saw what she thought was pure honesty in his eyes. She didn't really know what to think of him. He looked clean and he seemed well educated. But she wasn't sure if she should be going off with some man that she knew nothing about. But she didn't want to stay in the hospital any longer either. She wasn't at all sure of what she should do. "Why don't you come by every day. Let me get to know you and I do need to think about it. It's just that I don't know you, well I don't know anyone but I really don't want to go off with anyone. But I do want to get out of this hospital. So give a few days to think on it."

John looked at and thought about telling her that she needs to be out of there in a week time. But thought better of it, she needed time. "All right, I'll be here tomorrow around 3. I'll look forward to seeing you."

John went home to get ready for Hopes arrival. He wasn't sure what a woman would need in a house. The only thing that he really knew about was horses. Everything else wasn't something that he concerned himself with. He only hoped that he could make this women feel at home. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea now that he thought about it. Hope had no idea who she was and what if someone came looking for her? What if he fell in love with her and then her husband wanted her back? What would he do? What would she do?

_You shouldn't worry about such things. Whatever happens will happen. It's just like taking a chance on a horse. You do your best because you think the horse has it in him/her to race. Sometimes you're wrong and sometimes you're right and you get lucky. Just wait and see. _

"John, you have a letter from your friend Christian."

"Oh, just leave it on the table, I'll read it later." But then he thought better of it.

_Dear John,_

_I'd like to come out and look at horses for while. I told you that I was planning to come out in a couple of months anyways. I'm bringing a friend who is out of the weather; his wife was killed in a boating incident a while ago. We'll be arriving in three months time. I have a few things that I have to tend to before I can make the trip out there. For one I still have to get my Friend to join me. I hope this isn't a problem if there are any issues please send word as soon as possible. I won't be at this address for much longer. I hope all is well._

_Christian _


End file.
